Pet groomer charged when husky puppy Rocky dies right after appointment, Texas cops say

A dog owner in Texas dropped off her husky puppy to be groomed, police said.

It was the last time she’d see her pet alive.

Eunice Lopez said she took 11-month-old Rocky to Karlu Pet Grooming in El Paso for a morning appointment on Aug 22, according to a Facebook post. A few hours later, the shop returned the husky in poor condition, she said. The groomers told her that Rocky was “too scared for grooming” and may have had a seizure, Lopez said. She said her dog had no history of seizures.

“I don’t know what these groomers did, but what I do know is that Rocky had multiple bruises to his abdomen and whole body as well as a baseball-size lump to his neck,” Lopez wrote in the Facebook post.

She later reported to animal cruelty investigators that the dog was limp and had “little signs of life,” police said in a news release Tuesday. Lopez immediately rushed Rocky to a veterinarian, but he died upon arrival, police said.

An examination by the vet and a necropsy showed signs of multiple injuries to the dog, police said.

Luis Alberto Vargas, the owner of Karlu Pet Grooming, was charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals causing death, police said. He was in El Paso county jail on $3,000 bond.

McClatchy news group could not reach Vargas. A phone number for the pet grooming shop was disconnected Tuesday afternoon.

This story was originally published September 24, 2019 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Pet groomer charged when husky puppy Rocky dies right after appointment, Texas cops say."